Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Declarations
Feb 6 2012 // Mission Impossible “All signs are pointing to more unprofitable years ahead for the workers’ compensation insurance industry.” —Standard & Poors Ratings Services in its report titled, “For...
Florida Guaranty Fund Found Not Responsible for Legal Fees
Feb 6 2012 // Florida’s high court has ruled that the state fund charged with paying claims from insolvent insurers is not responsible for paying a claimant’s legal fees on a pre-insolvent claim unless they are specifically...
People
Feb 6 2012 // Confie Seguros, an insurance agency group focused on Hispanic consumers, has named Joseph Waked as chief executive officer. John Addeo , former CEO and co-founder of the business, will remain with the company as executive...
Florida Senate Panel Clears PIP Fraud Bill But House Showdown Looms
Feb 5 2012 // Florida lawmakers are heading to a showdown over the state’s no-fault automobile insurance law with state Senate lawmakers seeking to reform current law as opposed to a House plan that would repeal the law in favor...
Florida Bill to Let Surplus Lines Assume Citizens Policies Advances
Feb 5 2012 // Legislation designed to help state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Co. spin off customers to reduce its hurricane risk cleared the Florida House after a heated debate Friday. The bill (HB 245) would let surplus lines...
Allstate Doubles Q4 Profit
Feb 2 2012 // Allstate Corp. reported that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter thanks to lower catastrophe losses and improved homeowners business. The big insurance company posted a fourth quarter net profit of $724...
A.M. Best Downgrades Florida’s FFVA Mutual to A-
Feb 1 2012 // A.M. best has downgraded the financial ratings of FFVA Mutual Insurance Co. due to underwriting losses on its workers’ compensation line of business, especially in states where it expanded outside of Florida. A.M....
Florida Lawmakers Tackle Check Cashing Ties to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Feb 1 2012 // Florida lawmakers are looking to give regulators and law enforcement officials more flexibility to investigate check cashing companies that may be facilitating fraud in the construction industry. The House Subcommittee on...
Florida Firefighters Win Workplace Retaliation Claim Against Union, County
Feb 1 2012 // A federal jury has awarded $189,000 to two Tampa Bay area firefighters in a workplace retaliation case. The Tampa Bay Times reported that most of this week’s verdict was assessed against the International Association...
Florida Investigating Cause of Multiple Car Pile-Up That Killed 10
Jan 31 2012 // Authorities in Florida are trying to determine what caused a horrific highway pileup where vehicles collided one after another on a dark highway so shrouded in haze and smoke that drivers were blinded. At least 10 were...
A.M. Best Downgrades Peachtree Casualty Due to Florida Auto Results
Jan 30 2012 // A.M. Best has downgraded the financial ratings of Peachtree Casualty Insurance Co., citing the insurer’s poor underwriting results due in part to rising costs associated with Florida’s troubled no-fault...
Florida Lawmaker Warns on Damages If Cuba Oil Drilling Spills
Jan 30 2012 // Since the United States couldn’t stop Repsol from drilling for oil off Cuba’s coast, it should make the Spanish oil giant pay dearly for damages from any spill that threatens neighboring Florida, a...
Florida’s FCCI Names Executives for Texas, Maryland Expansion
Jan 30 2012 // FCCI Insurance Group has announced it is expanding its commercial insurance offerings into Maryland and Texas. The company has named several executives to serve in a new home office that will oversee operations in those...
Florida Lawmakers Reject Bad-Faith Reform Bill
Jan 27 2012 // Business groups in Florida saw their efforts to reform the state’s bad-faith law end suddenly for the year after a legislative committee voted by a one vote margin to kill a bill that would have placed additional...
Florida Gov. Scott Leads a PIP Rally for Reform
Jan 25 2012 // Standing in the rotunda of Florida’s capitol in Tallahassee on Wednesday, Florida officials and business leaders called on state lawmakers to reform the state’s no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) auto...
The Politics of Florida PIP: Industry Looks on While Pols Seek Answers
Jan 25 2012 // Most agree that Florida’s automobile no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) system needs to be reformed. But in the halls of the state Capitol the struggle over just how to reform the law has exposed how...
Florida Supreme Court Rules Guaranty Fund Not Responsible for Legal Fees
Jan 23 2012 // Florida’s high court has ruled that the state fund charged with paying claims from insolvent insurers is not responsible for paying a claimant’s legal fees on a pre-insolvent claim unless they are specifically...
People
Jan 23 2012 // Woodbury, N.Y.-based Sterling & Sterling appointed Leslie Nylund as president of the insurance brokerage. Nylund will be responsible for the firm’s operations, including sales, employee benefits, client services...
People
Jan 23 2012 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. President Scott Wallace announced that he will step down as president and CEO of the corporation effective April 6. Wallace, who has served more than six years as the CEO of the Florida...
Outpatient Costs Higher in States Without Fee Schedules
Jan 23 2012 // States without fee schedules have higher hospital outpatient costs for common surgeries compared to states with fee schedules, according to a workers’ compensation study. The study found that significant variations...
